Machine Head – Arrows In Words From The Sky EP [Paul Hutchings]
It’s been a soap opera in the Machine Head camp in the past few years. Barbed comments following the departure of Phil Demmel and Dave Mclain in 2018, a lukewarm response to Catharsis and some social media outpourings that made Robb Flynn a somewhat bizarre figure. But underneath all of that, the Machine Head fans have remained loyal and time moves on. The pandemic has seen MFH active on social media and in preparation for the 10th album, the band have released a three-track EP, Arrows In Words From The Sky. Become The Firestorm kicks things off, a raging thrashy affair, with Flynn’s snarling gruff vocals roaring from the start. The song is fast, the drumming propelling the track forward, with a neat breakdown which combines clean and rough vocals on the chorus. A typical MFH change in tempo at about 1:50 sees the pace slow, huge riffs reminiscent of The Blackening era as Flynn spits his vocals. Dual guitar harmonies lead to another change of pace before the song descends into manically fast speed with a screaming solo exploding out of the speakers. This leads back to the main hook bringing the track to a blistering close.
It’s been a soap opera in the Machine Head camp in the past few years. Barbed comments following the departure of Phil Demmel and Dave Mclain in 2018, a lukewarm response to Catharsis and some social media outpourings that made Robb Flynn a somewhat bizarre figure. But underneath all of that, the Machine Head fans have remained loyal and time moves on. The pandemic has seen MFH active on social media and in preparation for the 10th album, the band have released a three-track EP, Arrows In Words From The Sky. Become The Firestorm kicks things off, a raging thrashy affair, with Flynn’s snarling gruff vocals roaring from the start. The song is fast, the drumming propelling the track forward, with a neat breakdown which combines clean and rough vocals on the chorus. A typical MFH change in tempo at about 1:50 sees the pace slow, huge riffs reminiscent of The Blackening era as Flynn spits his vocals. Dual guitar harmonies lead to another change of pace before the song descends into manically fast speed with a screaming solo exploding out of the speakers. This leads back to the main hook bringing the track to a blistering close.
No Rest As Rotten immediately follows, a change in direction with a massive chug driving the song, Flynn returning to The Burning Red era with his vocal delivery, the chorus a bit of an earworm. Once the track gets moving, it has all the typical MFH components, plenty of lyrics, the shrieking guitar tone and a massive riff which dominates. A slower overall pace which once again harks back to The Blackening in feel and the addition of some clean harmonies slightly changing the feel of the song. Another breakneck solo leads to a fist pumping opportunity before returning the initial format and chug and a horrible fade out. It’s a track that I haven’t warmed to on the first few listens, but it may well become a live staple. The title track wraps things up and it’s another interesting one. Much more use of clean vocals, and a more measured tempo. The song has a melancholic feel, opening with a gentle guitar as a backdrop to Flynn’s singing. It feels big, using harmonies and echoing effects before a big riff kicks in along with some thumping double bass kicks. More melodic than the other two songs, Arrows In Words From The Sky builds slowly, the temperature increasing gradually.
It’s more mainstream than much of their work, with another big breakdown around the three-minute mark as it segues into an angry lead break before returning to the mellow, reflective tone as it concludes. What to make of it all? It’s certainly contemporary Machine Head, although Flynn has taken the decision to draw on past musical styles, especially the most successful era of the band. Will it make Machine Head more relevant? I doubt it. But do they need it or do they care? Probably not. The band who was tipped for world domination in 2007 appears now to be purely a vehicle for Flynn. I can’t even name the other members of the band, apart from Jared something (Jared MacEachern formerly of Sanctity - Ed) on bass. But there is a resilience which I must admire. And that has to be applauded. Machine Head may not be the force they once were, but there is still plenty in the tank. The new album will be interesting if nothing else. 7/10
Interpolant - Arbor (Terminarch Records) [Zak Skane]
Interpolant is an extreme metal solo project (created by Tobias) that has began in mid 2020 during the mist of the Covid-19 pandemic where guidelines were being announced on a daily basis and riots were being held against the government. Interpolant goes against the “typical” musical norms when it comes to rhythm and structure by keeping listener on their toes with unique scale and note progressions as well as applying synthesizers to his sound to push the sonic boundaries of the extreme metal sound. Listening to the album, I got to admire the sheerer brutal-ness that this album maintains whilst keeping it raw and genuine. The opening track Aspen Grove swells in and slaps you straight in the face with low tuned guitars and furious blasts beats backed with synthonic strings that consistently ramp up the tension throughout the song.
Interpolant - Arbor (Terminarch Records) [Zak Skane]
Interpolant is an extreme metal solo project (created by Tobias) that has began in mid 2020 during the mist of the Covid-19 pandemic where guidelines were being announced on a daily basis and riots were being held against the government. Interpolant goes against the “typical” musical norms when it comes to rhythm and structure by keeping listener on their toes with unique scale and note progressions as well as applying synthesizers to his sound to push the sonic boundaries of the extreme metal sound. Listening to the album, I got to admire the sheerer brutal-ness that this album maintains whilst keeping it raw and genuine. The opening track Aspen Grove swells in and slaps you straight in the face with low tuned guitars and furious blasts beats backed with synthonic strings that consistently ramp up the tension throughout the song.
Sycamore demonstrates Tobias’s vocal abilities by showing us how low he can go whilst providing some fast paced phrases that will please any Whitechapel fan. Tannhauser Gate and Monument show off Tobias’s orchestration skills with combining theatrical sounding synthesizers with death metal instrumentation creating more cinematic/video game soundscapes. Overall the instrumentation on this album sounds great, Tobias’s death growls sound deep and meaty, the bass and guitars sound chunky, drums sound punchy human and the synthesizers sound retro and dreamscapey but also holding there place in the mix without sounding too thin or overpowering in the mix.
My biggest criticism that I found on the album is that the vocal patterns on some of the songs (for example Aspen Grove, Sycamore and Semper Virens) and I think there could been some added high pitched vocals that could of verified the vocal tracks to give them some more depth. If you are a fan of bands like Rings Of Saturn, Cannibal Corpse and old school Whitechapel check this album out. 7/10
Sickrecy - First World Anxiety (Spikerot Records) [Paul Scoble]
First World Anxiety is Sickrecy’s first release, as the band only formed this year. Sickrecy is made up of Adde Mitreoulis and Marcus Dahl who between them have played in Birdflesh, General Surgery, World In Ruins and Damned To Downfall. Sickrecy are based in Sweden. Sickrecy play a very classic style of Grindcore, so this EP has six tracks and a total run time of just 17 minutes, it’s short and to the point. The EP is packed with tight as anything blast beats, and some very energy packed parts in between all the blast beats. In addition to all the lovely grinding goodness is a load associated nastiness, you’ll find elements of Crust Punk, D-Beat and even a little bit of old school death metal.
Sickrecy - First World Anxiety (Spikerot Records) [Paul Scoble]
First World Anxiety is Sickrecy’s first release, as the band only formed this year. Sickrecy is made up of Adde Mitreoulis and Marcus Dahl who between them have played in Birdflesh, General Surgery, World In Ruins and Damned To Downfall. Sickrecy are based in Sweden. Sickrecy play a very classic style of Grindcore, so this EP has six tracks and a total run time of just 17 minutes, it’s short and to the point. The EP is packed with tight as anything blast beats, and some very energy packed parts in between all the blast beats. In addition to all the lovely grinding goodness is a load associated nastiness, you’ll find elements of Crust Punk, D-Beat and even a little bit of old school death metal.
All the tracks have huge amounts of energy and drive, the great riffs and exciting tempos crackle with vigour, vibrancy and dynamism. On my first listen to this EP the first album I thought of to compare this to was Terrorizer’s legendary first album World Downfall. I can also hear similarities to Nasum and Rotten Sound, and if those comparisons aren’t a compliment, then I don’t know what is. First World Anxiety is a cracking Grindcore EP, for a first recording it is extremely impressive. I’m now looking forward to a full length from Sickrecy, because if this is what they can produce as a first attempt, I am dying to hear what they can do once they have had a bit of practice! 8/10
Social Disorder - Love 2 Be Hated (AFM Records) [Simon Black]
This is an interesting project. It’s the brainchild of Anders "LA" Rönnblom (Killer Bee/X-Romance), and is a deep and dark journey through the darker side of his life experiences. Its highly autobiographical subject matter sees him opening up about some of the bumps along the road of life including alcoholism and failed romance, plus other full on life experiences, to a soundtrack of his musical influences and with a quite spectacular cast of guest musicians, a few of whom no doubt fond the subject matter familiar. Tracii Guns, Rudy Sarzo, Jeff Duncan, Dave Stone, Snowy Shaw, Shawn Duncan and Leif Ehlin is an impressive roster to say the least, but the real gem in this record is unknown vocalist Thomas Nordin. He’s got a soulful and Blues-filled Hard Rockin’ voice that made me think that Joe Lynn Turner was also involved (although the younger Nordin’s range is way higher) and despite the impressive instrumental back line is firmly front and centre of the mix, more than capable of holding the fort from the front.
Social Disorder - Love 2 Be Hated (AFM Records) [Simon Black]
This is an interesting project. It’s the brainchild of Anders "LA" Rönnblom (Killer Bee/X-Romance), and is a deep and dark journey through the darker side of his life experiences. Its highly autobiographical subject matter sees him opening up about some of the bumps along the road of life including alcoholism and failed romance, plus other full on life experiences, to a soundtrack of his musical influences and with a quite spectacular cast of guest musicians, a few of whom no doubt fond the subject matter familiar. Tracii Guns, Rudy Sarzo, Jeff Duncan, Dave Stone, Snowy Shaw, Shawn Duncan and Leif Ehlin is an impressive roster to say the least, but the real gem in this record is unknown vocalist Thomas Nordin. He’s got a soulful and Blues-filled Hard Rockin’ voice that made me think that Joe Lynn Turner was also involved (although the younger Nordin’s range is way higher) and despite the impressive instrumental back line is firmly front and centre of the mix, more than capable of holding the fort from the front.
The song writing on here is really strong, well-structured and at no point sounding like this is anything other than a really cohesive band. The pace and speed varies aplenty, but generally this is steeped in retro Rock, plus a few high tempo belters with a healthy dollop of Southern soul in this and slide guitar aplenty to go alongside the more trad tropes. There’s huge dollops of 70’s groove on here, with liberal helpings of Hammond organs tucked away in there in case you didn’t get the references although the modern feel of some of the fast tracks makes it clear that this isn’t about pure retro for the sake of it, only where it helps with the autobiographical tone. It’s not a particularly long album either, but has a concise flow to it that means the ten tracks on here fly by effortlessly.
Ballad The One feels like it’s where the album should naturally end, but there’s an extra instrumental track Wings Of Serenity included on here. First off it feels like it’s been taken from another recording sessions, as the mix is completely different, but it also showcases that these folks have the ability to deliver more technically complex and intricate music alongside the groove, as you would expect from musos of this calibre and experience. It’s hugely enjoyable, standing up after several listens and introducing a frontman that I now really want to see play live. 8/10